The global downturn has sent shockwaves through the housing market, but the responses to the crisis are equally dramatic, promising to transform our housing landscape permanently and radically.

This supplement examines how the diverse elements of the housing sector, from affordable developments to homes for sale and the private rented market, can each make their mark. As outlined on this page, drawing on the contribution of public and private sector housing providers will not only maintain housing momentum in the short term, but ensure that the solutions create stable, long-lasting communities.

Inside, we report on the challenges ahead as outlined by Sir Bob Kerslake, the chief executive of the new Homes and Communities Agency, who spoke at the Society Guardian conference on the future of housing two weeks ago. Also, housing minister Margaret Beckett explains, alongside other leading figures, how the private rented sector might play a bigger role.

These might be testing times, but there is confidence amid the gloom. We focus on the housing organisations championing staff engagement and those breaking new ground in design standards and eco-living, despite the recession. Community empowerment expert Christine Searle explains how residents can help to overhaul their neighbourhoods. We also explore the impact of the ageing population on housing, and the challenge in the countryside: issues as important to delivering a sustainable housing future as more mainstream agendas of family homes and urban communities.

Our housing landscape will soon change beyond recognition as some of the plans outlined here come to fruition. Housing professionals have been theorising about the solutions; now they are poised to deliver.